you wont get the best bang for you buck if your looking at an exhaust for gaining power. if you want more power go with an intake and chip. but if you want to gain something like 5hp and just make the car sound better than you could look into an exhaust. you have a 318 so only one little muffler tip. i dont know who makes any of that design but the kind that is the most free-flowing will produce the best results

yes, chip will give you about 10hp, remove the speed governor, and increase the rev limiter. depending on the year of your car you will either get a chip or shark injector. either way get a jim conforti. they are the best from what i hear. the intake will allow your car to breath better. it will make a throatier and "meaner" sound. there are 2 types of intakes. the "cold air intake" and the regular intake. they both produce the same gains but the cold air intake is situated down into the bumper. the problem with these is that water and snow etc can easily get all over the filter. dinan and benfer are the top 2 manufacturers of these types of intakes. the other kind is the most popular. it doesnt go down as far and if you have a heat shield with it, it will produce the same or better numbers than the true "CAI". i have the aa-tuning intake. it was 300 shipped from the forum sponsor. thats a good deal considering its $50 plus shipping from anywhere else. i have a review for it in the faq section. other brands include ecis and jim conforti.

ah,, thanks for the recomendations.. sounds interesting to look into...

I actually have a K&N open pod filter, and had it installed some time ago. As you say, it does have a "throatier" growl, but i dont really feel the extra push. Maybe my home-made heatshield is not working properly and therefore it sucks hot air. (I'm living in malaysia, the wheather here is really HOT in the afternoon). Are there actually different sizes of air intakes made specifically for engine capacity or they are all just in standard size. Mine is BIG compared to those i see fitted in car magazines. (it looks as though, it is more suitable for Japanese Turbo cars).
And again, i get comments that its not worth the buck to install that air intake of mine, because 1) it's too big 2) i'm running on an auto transmission 3) it guzzles petrol 4) it doesnt give me power.

hmm, is it "worth it" to modifiy a car with Auto Transmission?.. people do say that its not because i cant actually gain power from it

it will be harder to feel upgrades in an auto. One thing you may look into is a new differential with a higher ratio. You would lose top speed, but you get there quicker. Another thing you may consider is a new torque converter.

for a 318 i heard cai and all that hardly do shit, get cams, youll feel that or forced induction, ive heard all over many places that a 318 get hardly an performance gains unles u do serious shit, by the way, for ur intake fabricate a heatshild, that should get it alittle more noticble power

I torque converter designed with racing in mind will turn more of your engines power torque, in theory helping you acelerate faster. if nothing else, you'll be able to smoke your tires easier. However, like with a new differential, your top speed will be lowered.